Devils Fall Short to Islanders in OT | GAME STORY

NEWARK, NJ— On the second half of a back-to-back, the New Jersey Devils fell behind early to the Islanders and kept playing catchup until the very end.

Three times the Devils worked their way back to a tie game before the two clubs played in overtime, where the Islanders ultimately prevailed.

"Missing out on the two points is hard,” Jesper Bratt said. “We do a good time fighting us back into a position of getting one points. Towards the end of the season that one point can make a big difference so obviously that was good."

After Brock Nelson opened the game's scoring with a deflection past Jake Allen just 1:23 into the game, the Devils were forced into a game of catchup. New Jersey was never quite out of it; goals from Nico Hischier in the first period and Curtis Lazar in the second period twice tied the game to keep the home team in the fight.

Former Devil Kyle Palmieri gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 11:28 of the second, tipping in an Alexander Romanov shot. It was a lead the Islanders would hold until the waning moments of regulation.

With Jake Allen pulled for the extra attacker, the Devils went to work 6-on-5 with Jesper Bratt, the beneficiary of multiple bodies crashing Ilya Sorokin’s net, and the puck popping out to him at the right place and right time to score the third tying goal of the night.

Islanders Bo Horvat won the game early in overtime, 4-3, just after Nico Hischier was denied on a great chance in the opening 10 seconds of extra time.

"We’re so close, in saying that, we’re doing a lot of good things," Lazar said. "A few breakdowns end up in the back of our net. That’s the game. So, I don’t think it’s any reason to dwell on this, we fought hard, we pushed in the third, it took a while to get that, but to solidify that point, it’s massive.”

"It’s a little tough coming in here only getting one point out of it," Bratt added. "We were millimeters from almost getting two points and coming in here celebrating. Instead, we’re having the feeling we have now.”

Here are some observations from the game:

• Head coach Sheldon Keefe offered some perspective of what his team has been through the past few weeks. All while getting to know one another, a new coach, and a new system, the time has not been on the club's side right off the gate. Only twice in the last 16 days have they been able to hold a practice with so many games on their schedule.

"This was our ninth game in the last 16 days," Keefe began. "The NHL is a tough schedule and a tough league, that's almost unheard of. We've played a lot of hockey, and that's also coming back from Prague. We look like a team that hasn't practiced much. We've had two practices in the last 16 days, only one coming off a day off. All things considered, to see our team fight here on a back-to-back, a third game in four nights, and make sure we get the point, those are all really encouraging signs."

• Nico Hischier remains on a point-per-game pace to start the season, scoring his eighth goal of the season to open the scoring for New Jersey against the Islanders. In his last four games, the Devils captain has five goals, and his eight goals lead the team, as do his 11 points.

This marks the hottest start to Hischier's career in terms of offensive contributions. Hischier carries a load of responsibility each game, on both sides of the puck, and in years past has nowhere near reached the same early-season offensive success as he is having right now. And in no way has it impacted the two-way game that he is so widely known for. In fact, just a night prior, Hischier put in a two-goal effort against Detroit while also tackling 57.1 percent of the Devils faceoffs and finished with a 53.1 percent efficiency.

"It's been tremendous," Keefe said of his captain. "I've called on him a lot to do the heavy lifting for our team, matchups, faceoffs, penalty kills, and to still find offense the way that he has; it's outstanding."

• Hischier is currently tied for the league lead in goals with Tampa Bay superstar Nikita Kucherov.

• Jesper Bratt's assist on Hischier's goal was his ninth point of the season. Only twice this year has he been held without a point (Oct. 4, vs BUF, Oct. 17 vs. OTT). Bratt ended the night with two points (1g-1a), to total 10 points in 11 games.

• The Devils penalty kill had a strong night, going 3-for-4.

• Kurtis MacDermid played his first game since Game 2 of the season in Prague. He was called to duty on Friday night while Nathan Bastian was out of the lineup.

"I've been wanting to get Kurtis in," Keefe said. "He's worked incredibly hard and has been as good a teammate as you can ask for.

MacDermid's biggest shift against the Islanders came in the second period, when he made a perfectly timed hit on the Islanders' big-hitter, Alexander Romanov. The hit was so hard that Romanov's helmet was knocked off. Romanov was caught by MacDermid's hit, crossing his blueline just after the puck had left his stick.

Scott Mayfield challenged MacDermid to a fight, of which the Devils forward obliged.

• Keefe confirmed that Bastian was a healthy scratch.